Giddy Up Gogo - a pleasure ride to remember

Hi there

Have been a bit inconspicuous for awhile as I have been busy wrapping up at work and getting the Giddy Up Gogo Pleasure ride done. This was the third annual ride at Dan and Shirley Gogo's property south of Nanaimo. The past two years we have had a Competitive Trail Ride, but this year, I decided to make it a Pleasure ride with a focus on miles, education, and socializing. Like previous years, I was capping the ride two weeks early due to popularity - this year at 60 participants and a waitlist.

This years event was a partnership between BCCTRA and the Backcountry Horsemen of BC as a way to familiarize each of the groups members to one another. For all groups who require access to trails for horseback riding, we really do need to get to know one another better and focus on our similarities. This years event brought us together over two nights of camping and miles of riding.

Camping started on Friday night as rigs pulled in from all over the island. Saturday morning we had an introduction to Competitive Trail Riding before two guided rides headed out at 10 am. I led a 15 mile trot ride (about 6 miles per hour) with Laureen Styles and we had about 16 people join us (4 dropped off after a few miles to ride on their own). Some were a bit unfamiliar with the pace, but overall everyone had a good time. The afternoon had another two 10 mile rides head out and then education sessions started in the afternoon. Saturday Dr. Clare Tompkins did a talk on Emergency vet care on the trail, and later Tom and Shane Sampson did a packhorse demonstration. This was repeated on Sunday with an intro to Backcountry Horsemen in the am by Ybo Plante, rides, and then sessions by Alexandra Hamilton on Emergency Hoof Care on the Trail and then a Search and Rescue session by Richard Payne. All this plus a potluck Sat and catered dinner Sunday for only $20 per person - great way to spend a weekend.

I clocked 46 miles with Tammy Mercer's Whiskey as El Nino had some bad feet after pulling two rear shoes the week prior. Was my first time on a Standardbred which was lots of fun - we clocked 19 miles on his big trot. I didn't get to spend much time with the camera but did catch a few worth sharing.

Thank you to Walker Creek Country Goods for sponsoring goodies for everyone, to Logomotion for doing the mugs and T-shirts, to Horse Council BC for zone funding, to Island Tractor for the use of the Kubota tractor for the event, to Island Timberlands and the Regional District of Nanaimo for access to the trails, to Big Apple Catering for dinner on Sunday and to all the volunteers who helped pull this event off. See you next year.

Canvas is coming out now that I am on holidays - post more soon.

Photos - all the Gogo's except Shirley - Daniel on Leopold, Marjorie on Chrissy, Dan on Angus and Mary on Somebody Askim. Shirley and Hoover were behind the scenes...